Ellyse Perry hopes her "wonderful ride" for Australia will continue in Gqeberha as she aims to power them to victory over Sri Lanka in the clash between the two unbeaten Group 1 sides at the T20 World Cup.
But the star allrounder, who's been in a rich vein of form, is wary of the threat posed by Sri Lanka's captain Chamari Athapaththu at St George's Park on Thursday.
Perry missed out on the knockout stages during the 2020 home T20 World Cup title triumph through injury and was dropped from the short-form line-up early last year during the Ashes.
Then, a stress fracture, picked up during the ODI World Cup in New Zealand, kept her from bowling at the Commonwealth Games.
But reflecting on her evolution through an up-and-down 2022, which ended with her smashing 165 runs in three innings during the five-T20I tour in India, the 32-year-old said: "I've been really fortunate to have experiences for a number of years now with this group.
"And just the changing nature of the sport and the way that it's been evolving, I guess, to sort of be part of that has been such a wonderful ride.
"And in a lot of ways, I've really enjoyed the challenge of the last couple of years.
"I think it's sort of pushed me to kind of change the way that I've done things or find new ways to do things and evolve a little bit.
"So, from a personal perspective, it's always awesome to be here."
Both sides have won two matches in the tournament but Australia went ahead of the Sri Lankans at the top of the group table on net run-rate after their eight-wicket win over Bangladesh on Tuesday.
But even though Sri Lanka have never won a match against them, Perry knows Australia can't afford to take Athapaththu's side lightly.
In T20Is, Sri Lanka had suffered heavy defeats in their first five encounters, until a closer affair at the sixth attempt when they last met.
In that group-stage fixture during the 2020 T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka removed Australia's top three inside four overs for just 10 after setting them 123 to chase.
The onus then fell on captain Meg Lanning and her recently retired deputy, Rachael Haynes, to resuscitate the innings before Australia eventually hobbled to a five-wicket win.
"In the 2020 World Cup, we did really good," said Athapaththu, who struck a fifty in that game.
"We played good cricket against Australia, and in the last over, they won the match.
"This game is very crucial for both teams. We don't have any pressure because we are underdogs.
"Australia is a champion team, so they have pressure from their side but not for us."
Athapaththu remains the most potent threat facing Australia. In Sri Lanka's two wins so far, she was the player of the match against South Africa and took 2-19 to go with her 15 against Bangladesh.
"I think very much in Chamari style, so far," Perry said of Athapaththu's performance.
"We have had a really great sort of look at Chamari - whether that's been in international fixtures when she's playing for Sri Lanka or when she's playing at the WBBL.
"She is a tremendously threatening player, a lot of power, energy and passion for the game as well."
